Israeli operations in occupied Palestine targeted the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. Medics have reported that at least 158 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces, while hundreds more were detained. Fourteen Palestinians were killed since the beginning of Ramadan on April 2.
Israeli forces entered the mosque before dawn on Friday, as thousands of Palestinians gathered to pray at the mosque. Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at the crowd, while Palestinians threw rocks. Other worshippers barricaded themselves inside the mosque.
Palestinian cameraman Rami al-Khatib told Al Jazeera, “They [Israeli forces] brutally emptied the compound. They were attacking the mosque staff, normal people, elders, young people…There were many injured people, they fired rubber bullets inside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. They were beating everyone, even the paramedics, they hit them.”
The NYT reports that Israel is stepping up military activities as a form of counterterrorism – while Palestinian residents argue that this will onlys toke further hatred and bloodshed. The Palestinian right to exist peacefully is consistently revoked by Israel.
Videos of the raid are distressing – showing Israeli forces shooting at children, elderly, and average Palestinians. Israeli occupation is brutal and vicious in its existence, with intense normalization and sanctioning of violence by the rest of the world.
This weekend, Kamala Harris served Israeli wine from the illegal settlements in the West Bank at a Passover Seder. Biden holds an opposition to Israeli settlements. Bella Hadid, a model of Palestinian heritage, was banned from posting on her Instagram story after posting videos and images in support of a free Palestine.
We urge for you to call your congressional representatives to condemn Israel’s actions against the Palestinians at Al-Aqsa compound.
